In the related art, there is an electronic component mounting machine which is provided with a transfer device which transfers a flux onto electrodes (bumps) of an electronic component to be mounted, for example, a ball grid array (BGA) electronic component (for example, PTL 1 or the like). In the electronic component mounting machine, before soldering the electronic component which is held by a suction nozzle of a mounting head to a circuit board, the electronic component is dipped in a flux film which is formed in advance by the transfer device to transfer the flux onto the electrodes, and the soldering is subsequently performed.
The amount of the flux which is transferred onto the electrodes of the electronic component affects the wettability of the solder, and influences the performance of the circuit board after the electronic component is mounted. Meanwhile, the flux generally contains a volatile solvent, and when a state in which the flux is formed as a flux film on a storage section of the transfer device continues, the solvent evaporates into the air, the viscosity changes, and the mechanically set film thickness changes with time. In the transfer device which is used in the mounting of this type of electronic component, the viscous fluid is not limited to the flux, and other viscous fluids (for example, solder) are also used; however, it is necessary to adjust the film thickness of the fluid film which is formed using the viscous fluid according to the pitch of the electrodes, the height dimension of the electrodes, and the like of the electronic component to be mounted. Therefore, for example, every time the type of electronic component being supplied is replaced, it is necessary for the electronic component mounting machine to adjust the film thickness of the fluid film of the transfer device according to the type of the electronic component. Therefore, it is necessary for the film thickness of the fluid film to be appropriately managed.
In the electronic component mounting machine which is disclosed in PTL 1 described above, the film thickness of the flux film which is formed changes according to the size of the gap between a top face of a transport belt on which the flux is placed and which conveys the flux, and a tip of a blade which is positioned on top of the transport belt and is pressed into the flux to be conveyed. Therefore, in the electronic component mounting machine, the size of the gap is changed and the film thickness of the flux film is adjusted by changing the position of the blade. The electronic component mounting machine is provided with a film thickness detection sensor for measuring the film thickness of the flux film, and the measurement result of the film thickness detection sensor is input to a control section. The control section compares the measurement result with a target value which is set in advance, and determines whether or not the film thickness is appropriate. The control section repeatedly executes feedback control in which the blade is moved according to the measurement result, and adjusts the position of the blade until the film thickness is a suitable value.